Rapisarda v Colladon (Irregular Divorces)
2014
FAMILY DIVISION
United Kingdom
CORAM
- SIR JAMES MUNBY PRESIDENT OF THE FAMILY DIVISION
Areas of Law
- Family Law
- Civil Procedure
2014
FAMILY DIVISION
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This case involved the Queen's Proctor's applications to dismiss 180 divorce petitions and set aside decrees obtained through fraudulent means. The cases covered various county courts in England and Wales and involved fraudulent addresses. The court held that the decrees were void due to fraud, as the addresses provided were not genuine, and highlighted that perjury alone does not suffice for voiding a decree, but fraud does.
Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division :
I have been hearing applications by the Queen’s Proctor to dismiss a large number of divorce petitions and also, in many of the cases, to set aside decrees of divorce (some nisi, some absolute) obtained in consequence of what can only be described as a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice on an almost industrial scale.
Altogether I have in front of me 180 petitions for divorce, issued on a variety of dates between August 2010 and February 2012 inclusive with the exception of one, La Marca v Prestieri BY12D00274, presented to the Barnsley County Court on 20 July 2012 and issued on 27 July 2012. They were presented to and issued in a huge number of different county courts – 137 in all – ranging, alphabetically from Aldershot to York and geographically across the length and breadth of England and Wales, from Truro in south-west England to Canterbury in south-east England, Haverfordwest in south-west Wales, Llangefni in north-west Wales, Carlisle in north-west England and Newcastle in north-east England. Most of these county courts handled only one of these petitions, some had two petitions and two (Reigate and Peterborough) had three.
In the circumstances, and bearing in mind in particular that this judgment will be read by many unfamiliar with our court system, I think it important to give a judgment more detailed in some respects than might otherwise be appropriate.
By way of preliminary, I should explain that within the United Kingdom there are three separate legal systems. Scotland and Northern Ireland each has its own legal system. I am sitting as a judge of the courts of England and Wales (what for convenience I shall refer to as “the English court”) applying the law of England and Wales (what for convenience I shall refer to as “English law”).
This judgment is divided into a number of sections. First, I deal with the law and practice applicable to divorce proceedings in the English court. Secondly, I deal with the law and practice applicable to the applications before me. Thirdly, I deal in some detail with the facts of the cases I am being invited to consider. Next, I set out the history of the current litigation, before setting out and explaining my conclusions. Finally, I deal with one case, Rapisarda v Colladon AL11D00099, which for reasons that will become apparent in due course requires to be considered separately.
English law: divorce proceedings in the English court
An applicatio